The first thing you need to know about my all-time Red Sox All-Star team is that Dustin Pedroia will barely notice he made the club -- he'll be too busy grousing that I stuck him in the No. 9 hole in the lineup.

Never mind that I've got the 1967 version of Yaz hitting out of place in the No. 2 hole, Pedroia's customary spot; he'll still feel the same way he did when he played in the All-Star Game in 2008 and saw that Terry Francona was batting Derek Jeter in the 2-spot instead. I can just hear him muttering, "Aren't you trying to win this game?"

Well, yes, I am, and I'd like my chances regardless of my batting order with the 2000 version of Pedro Martinez on the mound. Study the numbers -- 1.74 ERA, a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 8.88-1, .737 walks and hits per innings pitched. And all performed with a maestro's flair.

Highest BA by RH hitter since DiMaggio in 1939The second of back-to-back batting titles by Garciaparra, who seemed on the fast track to Cooperstown, and was embraced as one of the most beloved of all Red Sox players. Think back on all the line drives that whistled off his bat in '00, instead of the injuries and hard feelings that ensued, and it's still hard to believe that Nomar would be gone less than four seasons later.

G

AB

R

H

HR

RBI

BB

SO

SB

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

140

529

104

197

21

96

61

50

5

.372

.434

.599

1.033

No. 2 -- Carl Yastrzemski, OF, (1967 season)

Yaz was the Impossible Dream makerFor fans of a certain age, no Sox player will ever have a better season than Yaz had in '67 in taking the Sox from ninth place in '66 to Game 7 of the Series a year later. Need a hit, a home run, a catch, a throw? Yaz delivered. Maybe instead of using Jim Lonborg on two days' rest in Game 7, Dick Williams should have asked Yaz to pitch. He did everything else.

G

AB

R

H

HR

RBI

BB

SO

SB

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

161

579

112

189

44

121

91

60

10

.326

.418

.622

1.040

No. 3 -- Ted Williams, OF (1941 season)

70th anniversary of last .400 seasonImagine what Ted would have hit if he hadn't fractured his right ankle in the second week of spring training. He didn't rejoin the starting lineup until 12 games into the season, but the layoff obviously didn't bother him, and teammate Bobby Doerr has said that the injury actually helped Williams because it kept him from putting too much pressure on his front foot. His on-base percentage of .553 that season stood as the record until pitchers walked Barry Bonds 198 times in 2002, and his .735 slugging percentage remains the Sox record. Yet he finished second in the MVP balloting, because of Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak. The sabermetrics crowd would have pitched a fit.

G

AB

R

H

HR

RBI

BB

SO

SB

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

143

456

135

185

37

120

147

27

2

.406

.553

.735

1.287

No. 4 -- Jimmie Foxx, 1B (1938 season)

He was called "The Beast" for a reasonFoxx hit 50 home runs in '38, a team record that stood until David Ortiz hit 54 in '06. Foxx was coming off a down year, and even though he was only 30, questions were raised about what he had left. He responded by winning his third AL MVP award, first for the Sox. The next year he was runner-up, but by 33, his days as an every-day player were over.

G

AB

R

H

HR

RBI

BB

SO

SB

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

149

565

139

197

50

175

119

76

5

.349

.462

.704

1.166

No. 5 -- David Ortiz, DH (2006 season)

Big Papi smashed team HR markThis was the season Big Papi had his name linked with two of the all-timers. He broke Jimmie Foxx's club record for home runs, and tied Babe Ruth's AL record for most home runs on the road with 32. His 54 home runs marked the last of six straight seasons in which he hit more home runs than the previous year, and his 23 intentional walks while batting in front of Manny Ramirez demonstrated which poison pitchers preferred to pick.

G

AB

R

H

HR

RBI

BB

SO

SB

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

151

558

115

160

54

137

119

117

1

.287

.413

.636

1.049

No. 6 -- Jim Rice, OF (1978 season)

With 746 PA in '78, Rice lived to hackThe fractured wrist that kept Rice out of the '75 World Series delayed his discovery on a national stage. But three years later, Rice had already established himself as one of the most feared right-handed hitters of his generation, and a worthy link in the chain of great Sox left fielders, when he won his only MVP.

G

AB

R

H

HR

RBI

BB

SO

SB

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

163

677

121

213

46

139

58

126

7

.315

.370

.600

.970

No. 7 -- Wade Boggs, 3B (1987 season)

Hit machine showed power that year, tooBoggs hit a career-high 24 home runs in '87 and still collected his usual 200 hits. It was almost as if he wanted to show that he could hit for power if he chose to do so. He never hit more than 11 in any subsequent season, but that didn't keep him out of the Hall of Fame.

G

AB

R

H

HR

RBI

BB

SO

SB

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

147

551

108

200

24

89

105

48

1

.363

.461

.588

1.049

No. 8 -- Carlton Fisk, C (1972 season)

Love a catcher who led league in triplesFisk was only 24 in '72, his rookie season, and had the better part of two more decades ahead of him, but he already was displaying the all-around game and leadership qualities that made him one of the greatest native New Englanders ever to play the game. He was an All-Star, finished fourth in the MVP voting and won a Gold Glove -- surprisingly, the only one of his career.

G

AB

R

H

HR

RBI

BB

SO

SB

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

131

457

74

134

22

61

52

83

5

.293

.370

.538

.909

No. 9 -- Dustin Pedroia, 2B (2008 season)

The Little Engine who couldPedroia's MVP performance in '08 made him a narrow choice over Hall of Famer Bobby Doerr, a splendid player over time but one who never had the single-season nova burst that Pedroia enjoyed in '08. I wouldn't want to have to defend this pick to Ted, but Williams would have loved Pedroia's intensity, too.

G

AB

R

H

HR

RBI

BB

SO

SB

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

157

653

118

213

17

83

50

52

20

.326

.376

.493

.869

STARTING PITCHER: Pedro Martinez (2000 season)

El Hombre MagnificoThis was arguably the greatest season a pitcher has ever had. Martinez's earned run average of 1.74 was more than three full points below the average. He averaged a touch below 12 strikeouts per 9 innings and a tick above one walk per nine. Hitters managed just 5.3 hits per 9 innings. He threw 7 complete games, 4 shutouts, and struck out 10 or more 15 times. The miracle is he won just 18 games, in good part because the Sox scored 3 runs or fewer in nearly half (13) of his 29 starts.

G

CG

IP

H

ER

HR

BB

SO

W-L

WHIP

ERA

29

7

217.0

128

42

17

32

284

18-6

0.74

1.74

RELIEF PITCHER: Dick Radatz (1963 season)

The Monster roamed the earthCan you pick a guy on the basis of just two games? On June 9, 1963, Radatz entered a game in Baltimore in the bottom of the ninth and struck out the side, the first of six innings he worked before the Sox won in the 14th. He gave up 2 hits while striking out 10. Of the other 8 outs he registered, five were foul popups, one was a sacrifice bunt and another a caught stealing. Two nights later in Detroit, Radatz outdid himself, giving up 3 hits, walking one and striking out 11 in 8 2/3 innings. Monster, indeed.

Pedro's 5 dominant seasons from 97-01 are among the 5 best season's ever for any starting pitcher in the history of the game. Baseball prospectus ranks him 10th ever and that ranking may be 1 or 2 slots low IMHO! His .74 WHIP is otherworldly! I liken his run to him being a Major Leaguer and everyone else AAA players he was THAT dominant!

Yaz played a season as a starting center fielder he could handle that position, he also played about 700 games at first base. Ted Williams was a right fielder when he came up and played there for a few years.

Instead of quibbling about 3 "left fielders" maybe you can come up with a better line up? Because in their prime Yaz could play center and Williams could play right.

In Response to Re: All time Red Sox All Star team : Yaz played a season as a starting center fielder he could handle that position, he also played about 700 games at first base. Ted Williams was a right fielder when he came up and played there for a few years. Instead of quibbling about 3 "left fielders" maybe you can come up with a better line up? Because in their prime Yaz could play center and Williams could play right. Posted by snakeoil123

And anyone want to guess who the starting RF was in the 1978 playoff game against the Yankees?

Jim Rice.

Not that you'd want him there all the time, but for an All-Star game, he'd do just fine. On that note:

Rice played 44 games in RF and one in CF.

Yaz played 166 games in CF and 8 in RF.

Williams played 169 games in RF.

So for one All-Star game, I think the Williams-Yaz-Rice would have the OF covered just fine.

In Response to Re: All time Red Sox All Star team : Yaz played a season as a starting center fielder he could handle that position, he also played about 700 games at first base. Ted Williams was a right fielder when he came up and played there for a few years. Instead of quibbling about 3 "left fielders" maybe you can come up with a better line up? Because in their prime Yaz could play center and Williams could play right. Posted by snakeoil123

Except the OP listed specific years, during which Ted W. played 1 (one, uno) game in RF and Yaz played 0 (zero, nil, nada) games at first.

If it wasn't for that beaning, he could have been another Yaz, or even better; the perfect Green Monster player due to his hitting those towering drives, and arguably one of the greatest 19-20 yr old players ever. What 20 yr old leads the league in HRs? It's mind boggling.

In Response to Re: All time Red Sox All Star team : If it wasn't for that beaning, he could have been another Yaz, or even better; the perfect Green Monster player due to his hitting those towering drives, and arguably one of the greatest 19-20 yr old players ever. What 20 yr old leads the league in HRs? It's mind boggling. Posted by nhsteven

The injury to Tony Conigliario was a tragedy. Thankfully injuries like this don't happen very often.

I agree with all of the others that this is a great list of all-stars.

Nice post Mojo, but your avatar is disgusting.Posted by sindarin-erebor

Thanks for liking the post.As far as the avatar goes,I guess you're not a big Red Hot Chili Peppers fan.I'm doing a "summer of my favorite albums" for my avatar where I change it every week or two.I'm probably going to change it today or tomorrow so you won't have to look at it too much longer.

From Gordon Edes at ESPNBoston.com: The first thing you need to know about my all-time Red Sox All-Star team is that Dustin Pedroia will barely notice he made the club -- he'll be too busy grousing that I stuck him in the No. 9 hole in the lineup. Never mind that I've got the 1967 version of Yaz hitting out of place in the No. 2 hole, Pedroia's customary spot; he'll still feel the same way he did when he played in the All-Star Game in 2008 and saw that Terry Francona was batting Derek Jeter in the 2-spot instead. I can just hear him muttering, "Aren't you trying to win this game?" Well, yes, I am, and I'd like my chances regardless of my batting order with the 2000 version of Pedro Martinez on the mound. Study the numbers -- 1.74 ERA, a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 8.88-1, .737 walks and hits per innings pitched. And all performed with a maestro's flair. Toughest players to leave off: Smoky Joe Wood, Manny Ramirez , Bobby Doerr, Roger Clemens , Lefty Grove. Here's my all-time Sox lineup. No. 1 -- Nomar Garciaparra, SS (2000 season) Highest BA by RH hitter since DiMaggio in 1939 The second of back-to-back batting titles by Garciaparra, who seemed on the fast track to Cooperstown, and was embraced as one of the most beloved of all Red Sox players. Think back on all the line drives that whistled off his bat in '00, instead of the injuries and hard feelings that ensued, and it's still hard to believe that Nomar would be gone less than four seasons later. G AB R H HR RBI BB SO SB AVG OBP SLG OPS 140 529 104 197 21 96 61 50 5 .372 .434 .599 1.033 No. 2 -- Carl Yastrzemski, OF, (1967 season) Yaz was the Impossible Dream maker For fans of a certain age, no Sox player will ever have a better season than Yaz had in '67 in taking the Sox from ninth place in '66 to Game 7 of the Series a year later. Need a hit, a home run, a catch, a throw? Yaz delivered. Maybe instead of using Jim Lonborg on two days' rest in Game 7, Dick Williams should have asked Yaz to pitch. He did everything else. G AB R H HR RBI BB SO SB AVG OBP SLG OPS 161 579 112 189 44 121 91 60 10 .326 .418 .622 1.040 No. 3 -- Ted Williams, OF (1941 season) 70th anniversary of last .400 season Imagine what Ted would have hit if he hadn't fractured his right ankle in the second week of spring training. He didn't rejoin the starting lineup until 12 games into the season, but the layoff obviously didn't bother him, and teammate Bobby Doerr has said that the injury actually helped Williams because it kept him from putting too much pressure on his front foot. His on-base percentage of .553 that season stood as the record until pitchers walked Barry Bonds 198 times in 2002, and his .735 slugging percentage remains the Sox record. Yet he finished second in the MVP balloting, because of Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak. The sabermetrics crowd would have pitched a fit. G AB R H HR RBI BB SO SB AVG OBP SLG OPS 143 456 135 185 37 120 147 27 2 .406 .553 .735 1.287 No. 4 -- Jimmie Foxx, 1B (1938 season) He was called "The Beast" for a reason Foxx hit 50 home runs in '38, a team record that stood until David Ortiz hit 54 in '06. Foxx was coming off a down year, and even though he was only 30, questions were raised about what he had left. He responded by winning his third AL MVP award, first for the Sox. The next year he was runner-up, but by 33, his days as an every-day player were over. G AB R H HR RBI BB SO SB AVG OBP SLG OPS 149 565 139 197 50 175 119 76 5 .349 .462 .704 1.166 No. 5 -- David Ortiz, DH (2006 season) Big Papi smashed team HR mark This was the season Big Papi had his name linked with two of the all-timers. He broke Jimmie Foxx's club record for home runs, and tied Babe Ruth's AL record for most home runs on the road with 32. His 54 home runs marked the last of six straight seasons in which he hit more home runs than the previous year, and his 23 intentional walks while batting in front of Manny Ramirez demonstrated which poison pitchers preferred to pick. G AB R H HR RBI BB SO SB AVG OBP SLG OPS 151 558 115 160 54 137 119 117 1 .287 .413 .636 1.049 No. 6 -- Jim Rice, OF (1978 season) With 746 PA in '78, Rice lived to hack The fractured wrist that kept Rice out of the '75 World Series delayed his discovery on a national stage. But three years later, Rice had already established himself as one of the most feared right-handed hitters of his generation, and a worthy link in the chain of great Sox left fielders, when he won his only MVP. G AB R H HR RBI BB SO SB AVG OBP SLG OPS 163 677 121 213 46 139 58 126 7 .315 .370 .600 .970 No. 7 -- Wade Boggs, 3B (1987 season) Hit machine showed power that year, too Boggs hit a career-high 24 home runs in '87 and still collected his usual 200 hits. It was almost as if he wanted to show that he could hit for power if he chose to do so. He never hit more than 11 in any subsequent season, but that didn't keep him out of the Hall of Fame. G AB R H HR RBI BB SO SB AVG OBP SLG OPS 147 551 108 200 24 89 105 48 1 .363 .461 .588 1.049 No. 8 -- Carlton Fisk, C (1972 season) Love a catcher who led league in triples Fisk was only 24 in '72, his rookie season, and had the better part of two more decades ahead of him, but he already was displaying the all-around game and leadership qualities that made him one of the greatest native New Englanders ever to play the game. He was an All-Star, finished fourth in the MVP voting and won a Gold Glove -- surprisingly, the only one of his career. G AB R H HR RBI BB SO SB AVG OBP SLG OPS 131 457 74 134 22 61 52 83 5 .293 .370 .538 .909 No. 9 -- Dustin Pedroia, 2B (2008 season) The Little Engine who could Pedroia's MVP performance in '08 made him a narrow choice over Hall of Famer Bobby Doerr, a splendid player over time but one who never had the single-season nova burst that Pedroia enjoyed in '08. I wouldn't want to have to defend this pick to Ted, but Williams would have loved Pedroia's intensity, too. G AB R H HR RBI BB SO SB AVG OBP SLG OPS 157 653 118 213 17 83 50 52 20 .326 .376 .493 .869 STARTING PITCHER: Pedro Martinez (2000 season) El Hombre Magnifico This was arguably the greatest season a pitcher has ever had. Martinez's earned run average of 1.74 was more than three full points below the average. He averaged a touch below 12 strikeouts per 9 innings and a tick above one walk per nine. Hitters managed just 5.3 hits per 9 innings. He threw 7 complete games, 4 shutouts, and struck out 10 or more 15 times. The miracle is he won just 18 games, in good part because the Sox scored 3 runs or fewer in nearly half (13) of his 29 starts. G CG IP H ER HR BB SO W-L WHIP ERA 29 7 217.0 128 42 17 32 284 18-6 0.74 1.74 RELIEF PITCHER: Dick Radatz (1963 season) The Monster roamed the earth Can you pick a guy on the basis of just two games? On June 9, 1963, Radatz entered a game in Baltimore in the bottom of the ninth and struck out the side, the first of six innings he worked before the Sox won in the 14th. He gave up 2 hits while striking out 10. Of the other 8 outs he registered, five were foul popups, one was a sacrifice bunt and another a caught stealing. Two nights later in Detroit, Radatz outdid himself, giving up 3 hits, walking one and striking out 11 in 8 2/3 innings. Monster, indeed. G GS IP H ER HR BB SO W-L WHIP ERA 66 0 132.1 94 29 9 51 162 15-6 1.09 1.97Posted by mrmojo1120

Aside from Yaz, that's a horrible defensive OF. I'd imagine Yaz would have toplay CF. Jim Rice or Ted Williams patrolling RF would be a disaster. For that reason, I'd change the line-up to as follows:

1.) 3B Wade Boggs (great OBP)

2.) 2B Dustin Pedroia (great combo of power and OBP)

3.) LF Ted Williams (Greatest hitter, ever...but would never consent to being a DH)

4.) DH Manny Ramirez: (May be the best righthanded hitter of all-time).

5.) 1B Carl Yastrzemski (Not playing Yaz in LF is almost criminal. No one has ever played the LF wall better).

6.) RF Tony Conigliaro: (was once the youngest player to reach the 100 homer plateau, and was on his way to a 500 homer, Hall of Fame career...until he was busted in his left eye by a Jack Hamilton fastball...one of the greatest tragedies in Red Sox history).

7.) CF Fred Lynn

8.) C Carlton Fisk

9.) SS Nomar Garciaparra

10.) SP Pedro Martinez

11.) RP Jonathan Papelbon (has done it better and longer than Radatz...and has gotten it done in big games)